Snatch This!
by lestrangexoxo
Summary: Katy has always been fascinated by Harry Potter, but she's a Snatcher, and she knows she'll never meet him. She's not even allowed to like him in the slightest bit. But when a certain face appears as Undesirable No.1, her plans change dramatically.
1. Meet Katy

Kaitlin watched the sky growing darker. She knew they were moving him tonight, but that was nothing to do with her. Darren had told her, he was an Auror, or at least he used to be. But Kaitlin didn't want to think about that, besides, she hardly knew him. In the line of business she was in there wasn't time to make friends, she was always on the move. You see, Kaitlin was a Snatcher.

'Katy!' She heard her name being called from across the park. She sighed and turned to look into the distance. Liam was jogging across the grass towards her. They'd been friends for years, nothing ever went past that, but Katy didn't mind, it would be strange if they were more than friends. Liam slid across the grass and sat down beside her, shaking his shaggy hair off his face.

'He's moving tonight, right?' Liam asked, staring up at the sky as if he expected Harry Potter to fly across before his eyes.

'Yep.' Katy answered.

'Awesome,' Liam muttered, not really interested. 'are we working tomorrow night?'

Katy nodded. 'Far as I know, yeah. We've got to catch up with Grimwell , and then pick up Trent. Shouldn't be too taxing.'

'They can't seem to keep a hold on Trent, can they?' Liam commented casually.

'Nah, but then again, he is pretty quick.'

'Yeah,' Liam nodded. 'but you're quicker.' He winked at her. She smirked and turned back to the sky again. Liam was always like that, she'd got used it.

'Why are you so eager for a night off anyway? It's not as if you've got more of a social life than the rest of us.' She asked him. When you're moving locations at least once a week, it can be quite difficult to maintain any sort of relationship with people. Especially when more often than not, you can't tell people where you are or when you'll return.

Liam smiled to himself. 'Might have a date.' He told her, his eyes glittering slightly.

'Nice one there, Liam,' Katy said slightly sarcastically. 'who is she?'

'Well, she's just someone I met,' Liam shrugged. 'not really sure who she is. Her name's Julie.'

'Well done. Glad you had a proper conversation with her before you asked her out.'

'_Actually_,' Liam straightened his t-shirt collar. 'She asked me.'

Katy rolled her eyes. 'Really? Was it out of sympathy?'

'Oh ye of little faith,' Liam grinned at her. 'you'll see, when everything goes perfectly.'

Katy laughed. 'Yeah, right.'

She expected a witty remark back from Liam, but he was staring at the sky again. A flash of green flared in the distant sky. Katy's jaw dropped.

'Do you think that was…?' She started to say. Liam swallowed hard and stared back at the sky. A faint yell of _Expelliarmus! _ Issued from somewhere far away.

'That's him alright.' Liam replied slowly.

'Wow…' Katy couldn't stop herself saying that. She'd always found Harry Potter very intriguing. When she was at school, she was in his year, but he never noticed her. They'd never spoken to each other before, but she just found him really interesting. His whole story fascinated her. But of course, she could never express this given what she did for a living. She'd be killed for sure.

'Okay, he's not _that_ cool.' Liam remarked, leaning back and regaining his confidence. Katy simply looked at him. She'd known Liam since they started school, they'd always been friends, he knew almost everything about her.

'But he is!'

'He's a jerk,' Liam told her. 'he once told me that if I didn't get out of his way that he was going to hex me so bad that I wouldn't wake up for a week! Does that sound like a cool guy to you?'

'You sure that was Harry? I can't imagine him saying that.'

'Yeah, well… I'm pretty sure it was him. He looks like a lot of people really. Got a common kinda face, you know?' Liam explained.

'No he hasn't. He's got the most recognisable face in the world, you idiot.' Katy corrected him, a warm smile on her face, though.

'I guess,' Liam shrugged, glancing at his watch. 'Damn it, we'd better get a move on.'

'Where are we tonight, again?'

'Up at the Manor,' he told her. Katy sighed. 'aw, come it, it's not that bad. Draco's a sound guy.'

'He keeps hitting on me.'

Liam laughed and smiled at her. 'Well, if you're gonna go around running all the time, like _Baywatch_ style, what d'you expect?'

She smiled, slightly confused. 'What's _Baywatch_?'

'Never mind.' Liam sighed. He'd grown up very accustom to Muggles, he knew their TV schedule inside out.


	2. Malfoy Manor

Going to Malfoy Manor was always a chore. They had to go at least once a week for one reason or another, they varied in severity. Today was more of a house call than anything of importance. Draco Malfoy sometimes called them over for personal reasons rather than their job. He seemed to need a lot of support these days, and no one could blame him for that. It's just a shame he couldn't turn to his actual friends.

The whole place was always really depressing, as soon as Katy set foot in the house she felt like she wanted to kill herself… or that might just have been the prospect of spending a few hours with Draco Malfoy.

Liam was the one to enter first, always cautiously, but he'd never admit to it. It seemed as if the house was empty, but it always seemed like that at first. Footsteps sounded like someone was coming down the stairs, as Draco Malfoy peered over the banister. He smiled at them and came down to greet them.

'Thanks for coming,' he smiled, mostly at Katy. She returned it unwillingly.

'Alright?' Liam asked him.

'Not really. And yourselves?'

'Yep, not bad.' Liam answered casually.

'What about you, Katy?'

'I'm okay.' She replied shortly. Draco nodded, and they followed him into another room. This was the only room in the house they'd ever seen, the entrance room. It apparently served as a second living room, why anyone would need a back-up living room was beyond Katy.

'How come it's so quiet in here?' Katy asked. When they were usually there someone would always be wandering around, whether it was Draco's family or just random Death Eaters.

He looked shifty and didn't reply.

'For God's sake, Draco, we work for you.' Katy told him impatiently. Liam cast her a warning look. She knew she wasn't supposed to talk to him like that, but she also knew she could get away with it.

'You'd don't work for me specifically. You work for a lot of people,' he corrected her. 'but everyone's away tonight, you know, because they're moving Potter tonight.' He explained. Katy nodded, she knew that much, and she should have known that Death Eaters would have all been out in force.

'How come you're not there?' She asked.

'_Katy!_' Liam hissed at her.

'Leave her, she's alright,' Draco told him calmly. 'you know you don't have to watch what you say around me. Anyone else, yes, but not me. And I'm not there because they don't trust me to do it. Ever since I could kill Dumbledore… which I would have done if they'd given me longer… they assume I can't do anything else.' He sighed.

'Why d'you want-' Katy started to say. Liam nudged her in the ribs, hard.

'Sorry?' Draco asked her. She shook her head.

'Nothing…' She muttered.

He nodded and dismissed it. He knew what she was about to say, but he couldn't be bothered to pursue it.

'Got anything interesting coming up?' he asked the pair of them. Katy shook her head.

'Not much,' Liam shrugged. 'got a few minor gigs coming up, but nothing major.' He explained to Draco.

'Hmm,' he replied. 'there might be something more original coming up soon, from what I've heard.'

Both Katy and Liam remained silent, expecting him to elaborate. He didn't.

'Sorry. Shouldn't really have said that. Besides, I must have heard it wrong. They wouldn't use Snatchers for something as important as that.'

'_Excuse me_?' Katy exclaimed. 'Wouldn't use Snatchers for something that important? Hello, what exactly are we paid for? Catching people that _they_ can't catch!'

'Cool it, Katy.' Liam told her quietly.

'I didn't mean it like that,' Draco told her calmly. 'I only meant that the Dark Lord would want to catch this one himself.' He explained coolly.

'Right. 'Course you did.' Katy muttered, folding her arms and looking around the room and away from Draco.

'So, erm… any chance of a drink, mate?' Liam asked him.

'Oh, of course, yeah.' He answered. With just one snap of his fingers three glasses appeared on the coffee table in front of them and began filling themselves. Even Katy struggled to not be impressed by that skill.

'Whoa, that's awesome…' Katy said, picking her drink up and taking a sip.

'I've got a lot of time on my hands.' He glanced her up and down, possibly a bit of a hint.

She put her drink back down. 'Well, I've not. Really busy in my line of work.'

'Right.' He sighed. Liam smirked at Katy and quickly wiped his expression before turning back to Draco.

The front door opened in the hallway. Draco got up and peered around the door.

'Ah, hello, Draco!' Came a female voice from the hall. Katy exchanged a look with Liam.

The door flew open and in strolled Bellatrix Lestrange.

'Hey kids!' She grinned at them. 'Liam, you look better than ever, been workin' out, sunshine?' Liam blushed slightly and grinned awkwardly back at her. 'And Katy! You've done something with your hair, baby, looks nice!' Katy simply smiled.

Bellatrix sat down, and Draco stood at the opposite side of the room, leaning against the window frame. He was glaring at his aunt, like she'd interrupted something special, rather than just a gathering of friends.

'Well, kids, might have a bit of a job for you… if you're up for moonlighting?' She asked them. Katy shrugged, she didn't really want to have to come to the manor any more often than necessary… but in order to make a bit more money. There might be a chance.

'Sure.' Katy answered. Liam nodded, too.

'Alright,' Bellatrix beamed at them, a glitter in her eyes. 'Well. There's this girl… you might have heard of her. And she's been constantly getting in my way…' She paused and stared at a spot on the floor, her eyes burning like a wild fire.

'Find her.'


	3. Second Thoughts

Katy read aloud from the enchanted parchment she was holding.

'Nymphadora Tonks?' She questioned, glancing at Liam, as they paced a Muggle high street in London.

'I think she's a part of the Order. I've heard her name a few times,' he thought about the name for a while longer. 'isn't she Bellatrix's cousin?'

'Something like that,' Katy replied absentmindedly. 'but why are we here? I mean, why are we wandering around some Muggle town? She's hardly going to be here!'

'Katy, leave it. I know you want to run around a bit, but you know it takes time,' Liam explained with a sigh. 'and according to the directions, we need to find Barclay Avenue… apparently she's living there with her boyfriend… fiancé or whatever that half-breed is to her.'

'Cut it out, Liam.'

'Sorry.'

Katy took a few paces ahead of Liam. He got carried away with the job. They were supposed to remain impassive, and not let any of their views cloud their judgement. Liam had always found that difficult. Under normal circumstances, these times were anything but, Katy wouldn't even have been friends with Liam. It would have been highly unlikely. Katy had been in Hufflepuff, and Liam in Slytherin. They should have both been in their seventh year now, but they knew full well that it would do them no good going back to Hogwarts.

Liam jogged to keep up with her and skidded to her side.

'Katy, I'm sorry.'

She shook her head. 'It's fine, Liam.'

'I just don't think before I say anything and –'

'Liam! Just drop it,' Katy told him. 'I think we've found it.' She stared at the street sign ahead of them. Barclay Avenue.

'Let's go.' Liam muttered, suddenly his mind racing into work-mode. They walked down the street at a casual pace until they reached almost the end of the road. Liam nodded at Katy, and quickly she scampered into the alley beside the house. Liam continued walking and took out a Muggle mobile phone, put it to his ear, and began talking as if he was on the phone to someone. The door opened at the house, and a man strode out. He took a few glanced each way across the street and began walking. Katy knew who this was. Lupin. It was the right house, no doubt about that. Katy didn't have time to feel bad about taking away the person Lupin loved, her mind moved to quickly for sympathy. As soon as Lupin was out of sight, Katy silently unlocked the front door. As Liam paced back towards the house, Katy was at the door, opened it and slipped inside, Liam now at her heel. The door swung shut noiselessly. Liam motioned to Katy that she should check upstairs, while he searched downstairs.

The master bedroom was clean and tidy. Photos lined the walls, friends and family, newspaper cut-outs, everyone was smiling. Katy sighed. She knew what she had to do, and yet she was mesmerized by the images that were grinning at back her. She shook her head and got back to business, opening the wardrobe doors sharply, then silently closing them again. She whipped around and flicked her wand at the bed. The duvet flew off it and was thrown violently to the corner of the room, the pillows landing with a light sound on top of it. The drawers under the bed exploded with hardly any sound at all. After that there was silence. Nothing. She moved on.

Bathrooms may not look like the perfect place to hide, but if you know the right place, they can be masterful. She had to pull back the shower curtain, just in case, but that was never a clever place to hide. She smiled to herself as she saw the shower gels lined up beside the shower. She turned around and raised her wand once more. There was so many places to hide in the bathroom, the boiler cupboard, medicine cupboard, and the trapdoor to the attic was above Katy's head. She took a step backwards and swished her wand. The room began spinning, an immense tornado whirling around the room, doors flying open and the contents smashing into them, spilling everywhere. As suddenly as it had arrived, the tornado spun out and fizzled into nothing, and again silence prevailed. Katy flicked the hatch on the attic door, and pulled herself up.

'Lumos.' She muttered, pointing her wand around the darkened room. She still couldn't see anything.

'Lumos _maxima_.' She said with more determination. The attic was eerie when Katy took a proper look around. Old paintings were left forgotten on the floor, half covered in ground sheets, their occupants asleep in silence. Katy swallowed nervously and turned in the opposite direction. A black box sat right at the back of the attic, it was certainly big enough for a woman to squeeze into. It was lined with cobwebs and dust was generously sprinkled over it like a heavy winter frost on Halloween.

Steadily and slowly Katy made her way towards the box. Floorboards creaked beneath her. She silenced them with her wand. Her hand hovered over the latch on the crate, about to open it. She tried to stop herself thinking about what she was doing.

'What are you doing in this house?' A stern voice bellowed from behind her. Katy let out a scream and leapt around, her wand held out defensively.

'Who's there?' She called. It took her a while, but she spotted a painting on the far right of the room. The dust sheet must have fallen off when she walked past it, and woken the occupant. A middle aged man sat in the painting, with greying her and old, wise brown eyes.

'I think you'll find I asked the first question, young lady,' He said, slightly quieter this time, sensing Katy's fear. 'And who, may I ask, are you?'

'I… I'm Katy…' She stammered, not sure whether she should expose her identity to this painting.

'Katy, what are you doing in this house?'

'I'm… I'm working,' She told him slowly. He gave her a knowing look.

'I see. And what might it be in the Lupin house that you are working to find?'

Katy didn't answer, simply stared back at the painting. He nodded sorrowfully.

'These are sad times, that's for sure. However, you, Kaitlin Monroe, are simply making a living. Do you actually believe in what you are doing? Pursuing people whom you know are not the villains in this ghastly horror story.' He asked her softly, only putting into words what Katy would have been thinking if she'd given herself the chance.

There was a sudden scream from somewhere else in the house, then some soft bangs and thuds. Katy's eyes widened, and yet she remained rooted to the spot, something that had never happened to her before.

'_Katy! Down here!_' She heard Liam yelling. He'd never had to call her before, she always knew when to come.

'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.' She said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she glanced back at Mr Lupin in the painting. Katy knew what she was about to do, as she ducked back through the trap door and slid down the stairs almost as they were simply a slope. She jogged into the living room and stopped ahead of the scene waiting for her. Liam had a woman pinned down on the floor, her wand lying helplessly by Katy's feet. She looked down at Nymphadora Tonks. Tears were streaming down her face, as she stared longingly at her wand, then up at Katy. Her eyes were begging her to show the slightest bit of compassion, and pass her the wand.

'Katy, grab her wand, pocket it, and let's go.' Liam broke her chain of thought. Katy obeyed him instantly, her instinct taking over again. She slipped the wand into her back pocket. Tonks shut her eyes, defeated, as one final tears slipped down her cheek.


	4. HouseElf's Help

Katy and Liam took their hostage back to their base camp. They would have taken her straight to Malfoy Manor, but it was late at night, and even though the Malfoy's did have sleeping habits not dissimilar to vampires, it was too late for Katy and Liam to still be awake. Their base camp wasn't much. It was a simple tent (from the outside), with a few rooms and very basic items. They didn't need much while they were travelling.

'Alright, Katy. One of us keeps watch so the other one can sleep, yeah?' Liam asked her.

'Sure.' She nodded.

'I'm sleeping first,' he said quickly, then grinned at her and walked off into the bedroom. Katy sighed, but couldn't help but smile. She didn't mind staying up later, she knew she'd sleep better knowing that Liam was paying full attention to the job. He'd only have fallen asleep if Katy had slept first. She turned to Tonks, who was staring ahead of her, tied up with enchanted rope, her wand safely out of reach on the table at the other side of the tent. Katy picked up her own wand and held it up towards Tonks. Her eyes widened, and she looked scared out of her wits. Katy smiled, and gently waved her wand. The gag around Tonks' mouth loosened and fell to the floor. Tonks stared at her, confused.

'Why did you do that?' She asked her, confidence coating her voice.

'Thought I might talk to you. Make some light conversation.' Katy shrugged.

'_Light conversation_?' Tonks spat. 'You kidnapped me!'

Katy glanced back at her. 'It's my job.' She said through gritted teeth.

'Oh yeah, and you must be so proud of what you do.'

'You know, I'm starting to regret taking that gag off you.'

Tonks laughed. 'I'll bet you are.'

'Look, I'm not even done with school, you can't blame me for making a living.' Katy told her.

'Yeah, kidnapping people so they can be tortured and killed. Lovely way to earn good, clean money. Well done,' Tonks paused and stared at Katy. 'Kidnapping a pregnant woman, at that.'

Katy paused and stared back at her. 'Well I didn't know that. Else I would have… erm… told Liam not to be so harsh with you.'

'Gee, thanks. So don't try and spare me or my baby from being killed by Lestrange.' Tonks said quietly.

'What do you want me to do? Set you free now? And then be killed myself? I can't do that, I have a family too, you know.' Katy tried to explain, but she couldn't escape the guilt that had suddenly consumed her. She'd kidnapped a pregnant woman, who knows whether her baby had been harmed in process! She could easily have been a murderer!

'Ha, feeling guilty?' Tonks asked patronizingly.

Katy turned to her. 'Look, if you're at least nice to me, I'll try and find a way to get you out of here! But if you're not going to appreciate it, I won't bother.'

Tonks was silent for a moment. 'If you say so. I'll trust you, it's not as if I've got a better way out.'

'Alright. I can't promise anything, except that I'll try.' Katy told her. Tonks nodded slowly.

'Thank you.' She said finally. Katy didn't reply.

Liam pulled back the curtains to the bedroom.

'Alright,' he yawned. 'Go get some sleep… hey, why's her gag off?'

'No point try to appeal to this one's good nature, eh?' Tonks muttered to Katy.

'None whatsoever.' Katy replied with a smile. Tonks smiled back.

Katy couldn't sleep when she finally got to bed. She felt so guilty! The least she could do now was to find a way for Tonks to escape. She couldn't think of anything. It seemed impossible. She couldn't let her go now, Liam would know she'd done it, and she could get him killed for her troubles, too. And she couldn't just let her into the dungeon at the Malfoy Manor, there'd be no point, you can't apparate in and out of there! She turned over in the bed, maybe to try and give herself a new angle on it all.

There was a _snap_ somewhere in the room. Katy shot upright, and stared wide-eyed around the darkened tent room. A saucer-like pair of eyes glared back at her. She resisted the urge to scream, there was something about those eyes that seemed friendly.

'Who are you?' She hissed, not wanting to alert Liam that something was wrong.

'Dobby has come here to rescue miss Tonks!' The voice was squeaky, and could only belong to one type of animal.

'What's a house elf doing trying to rescue someone from our tent in the middle of nowhere?' Katy asked, trying to keep her tone calm. What on Earth was going on?

'Harry Potter sent Dobby to rescue his friend! And Dobby will do just that!' The elf went to pull back the curtains to the rest of the tent. Katy leapt out of bed and grabbed him. He started squirming and kicking.

'Shh!' Katy told him, placing him firmly back on the floor. 'You want to rescue Tonks, yes?' The elf nodded. 'Right. Then we're both after the same thing, alright?'

'Katy wants to set Tonks free, as well?' Dobby confirmed.

'Yes. Now listen to me, you used to work for the Malfoy family, correct?'

'Dobby did, Katy. For many years, but they were harsh and cruel and-'

'Good, yeah, okay. Now, is there anything about that house that you can tell me? I can't let Tonks go now, because both me and Liam could be killed for it. So, we have to get her as far as the Manor and let Bellatrix see her before we let her go, that way we can prove we did our job. Is there a way out of the dungeon? A secret door or something?'

Dobby paused and glanced around in thought. 'Tonks could always apparate out of there…'

Katy shook her head. 'You can't apparate from the dungeons there. It's protected.' Katy explained.

Dobby stared back at her in confusion. 'But Dobby has been able to apparate to and from there before. Many times.'

Katy's eyes widened. 'Really?'

'Of course.'

'And you could take people with you if you apparate away from the dungeons?'

'Dobby will try, miss Katy.'

'Excellent! Dobby that's what we'll do then, alright? Me and Liam will take her back to the Manor, and persuade Bella to keep her in the dungeons. Then you apparate inside there and take Tonks back! It's brilliant! Dobby, you're amazing.' Katy grinned at him.

'Well… Dobby is not _amazing_, miss Katy, Dobby is just quite good.' He smiled.

'Sure. You'd better go now, Liam'll come in any minute. Stick to the plan, okay?'

'Yes, miss Katy! Bye, miss Katy!' There was another _snap_ as he apparated again. Katy sighed and smiled to herself. She'd done it, and Tonks could be spared, as long as she could convince Bella to keep her in the dungeons… it shouldn't be that difficult.


	5. Hostage

Katy woke up the next morning. It was light outside. She must have been asleep for at least five hours! Liam must have let her oversleep, he only had about two hours! Katy leapt out of bed and quickly got dressed. She pinned back the curtains to the living room. Liam was reading a magazine, sprawled out across an armchair. Tonks was still sitting in the corner of the room, her gag in her mouth, and she looked like she'd been awake all night. Katy smiled at her, she couldn't tell if Tonks smiled back.

'Morning, Liam.' Katy greeted him. He peered over the magazine.

'Hey, Katy,' he smiled. 'what was going on last night? I heard voices.'

'Don't be saying that too loudly, Liam. Anyone would think you were hearing things.' Katy told him with a smirk. He grinned at her. She knew her way out of situations with him.

'So, you ready to make a move now?' he asked her, shutting the magazine and levitating it into his bag.

Katy shrugged. 'Alright.' She sighed. She was so nervous about it! The plan _had_ to work. There were lives at risk, here. It felt awful. If she messed up, or couldn't convince Bellatrix to put Tonks in the dungeon, she would certainly die. And the guilt Katy would feel if she was responsible for her death, and not just her death, the death of her baby, too.

The Manor was dark, as usual, but it seemed like something else was going on behind those great doors. The gates were locked, which was strange, and they had to wait at least five minutes before there was any sign of life beyond them. The doors swung open and they saw Bellatrix Lestrange stride towards them, her crazy hair flowing behind her. She snapped her fingers and the gates unlocked. She smiled at them and grinned as she saw what they had brought with them.

'Aha! You work quickly, kids!' She beamed at them and lead them up towards the manor. Katy glanced over at Tonks worriedly, she really wished Liam would be a little more careful, he was pulling the ropes so tightly…

The house seemed different. It looked as if they'd cleaned it up a little bit, some of the dark items on the shelves appeared as if they had been used recently, rather than just being decorative. Katy shivered and glanced at Tonks. She held a stone cold expression, but she looked quietly confident. Liam stared at Katy and then to their hostage and back to his partner. Katy quickly looked away as they followed Bellatrix.

'Alright, we'll put this one in the dungeon for now, ey? Let her stew for a while,' She stared around the banister on the stairs. 'Draco! Can you do me a favour, babe?'

Her nephew jogged down the stairs, took one look at the scene awaiting him and rolled his eyes. 'For God's sake, Bella! Where d'you want me to put this one, then?'

'Dungeons.' She muttered casually, and promptly strode into the entrance room. Katy glanced at Liam as he handed Tonks over to Draco, then they both followed their employer.

Bellatrix spun around, her hair whirling around her.

'Right, guys, I guess I'd better pay you, hadn't I?' She grinned at them and pulled some money out of her pocket and handing to equally to Katy and Liam, along with a pretty decent tip. Katy smiled back at her. She didn't particularly like Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman knew how to give tips. Liam and Katy pocketed their money as Draco returned from the dungeons.

'Well, I think drinks are in order! Where's that damned house elf?' She turned on the spot slowly, looking at the floor as if a house elf would suddenly appear.

'Uh… Bella, he can't do everything at the same time y'know. You sent him off to your actual house to polish silver, or something…' Draco told her slowly, as if he was talking to a child.

'Don't be so patronizing, Draco, you can make the bloody drinks then.'

As if to be doubly as smug, Draco clicked his fingers and drink appeared on the table in front of them.

'Bloody kids, what the hell do they teach at Hogwarts? How to host the perfect dinner party? My God that place has gone to the dogs,' She muttered darkly, then picked up a glass and replaced the crazy smile on her face. 'Drink up, kids,' She downed the glass in one. 'I've got business to attend to. Katy, Liam… Draco.' She spun on her heals and left.

There was a call from the hallway; '_LIAM!_'

'Holy shit…' Liam muttered, he glanced at the other two.

'She doesn't like waiting.' Draco informed him. Liam rapidly skidded out of the room, leaving Katy and Draco alone – much to Katy's dislike.

'So… just me and you, ey Katy?' Draco smiled at her. Katy smiled back, but she couldn't tell how believable her smile actually was.

'Yep. Looks that way.' She said awkwardly.

'You know… maybe it's a good thing we're alone now…' Draco took a few steps closer to her. Katy mirrored his steps – backwards.

'Or not,' She muttered. He rolled his eyes.

'Come on, Katy. Please don't tell me you're with that idiot?' He said, talking about Liam.

Katy shook her head. 'No. He's my friend, though, so please don't talk about him like that.'

Draco shrugged and stared back at her. 'So, you have any better options? I'm a decent guy, wealthy family…'

'Death Eater, the Dark Lord staying in your house…' Katy continued. He glared at her.

'And that's not _my_ fault. Katy, I really like you.'

'You've got a funny way of showing it. I don't know how you used to get girls in Slytherin, but in Hufflepuff guys aren't sleazy.' Katy told him fiercely.

'Is that so? And what about Diggory then? He had a load of girlfriends, and you're telling me he wasn't sleazy?'

'Don't you dare talk about Cedric like that!' Katy didn't realise it, but she was yelling. She took a few steps forward so her face was a few inches from his. 'And Cedric Diggory was more of a man than you will ever be, so don't you even think about talking about him in that manor again. Alright?'

Draco swallowed hard, clearly he didn't understand how physically powerful snatchers actually were. He nodded weakly.

'Good,' Katy told him, sliding backwards a little. 'and so, I'm going to find my partner and get out of here… unless there's anything else you would like to say to me?'

He shook his head slowly. 'No.'


	6. Infiltration

Katy left the house feeling just as angry as before. She thought a walk might do her good, but with Liam chattering away next to her she found it difficult to concentrate on clearing her conscience. Liam had been in very high spirits since they left the manor. Bella had given him an extra tip for being so quick, apparently she considered Liam to be the 'senior' one of the two. Of course, Katy completely disagreed.

'I mean I'm not gonna spend it all at once.'

'You're not gonna have a chance, Liam. We're going straight to the Ministry now.' Katy told him flatly.

'What? Why?' He whined, a puppy dog expression on his face.

'Because that's where we're going.' She replied, rolling her eyes. She apparated there and then, without even telling him. Liam shook his head and followed her.

The Ministry was just as busy as it always was. It looked a little different now, after all, Rufus Scrimgeour had been killed and the assumed Death Eater, Pius Thicknesse was now Minister of Magic – although rumour has it that he was under the imperious curse.

They were there for a meeting with Scabior – the leader of the Snatchers. They weren't an organized lot, but they did have assigned leaders. Greyback was a part of it, but it was rare that he'd ever be seen inside the Ministry, he was too recognisable to the people who worked there – the non-Death Eaters, that is.

Katy saw Scabior a little while after they got there, he appeared through one of the Floo Network fire places, with a few of his team. Katy didn't know any of them expect one – Luke Harvey, he was a year older than she was, but he used to be on the Quidditch team, they used to be friends. Scabior noticed them and waved them over to him, while the rest of his team departed in separate directions.

'Aha, well if it isn't my favourite kids.'

'We're not kids.' Katy said icily.

'Just an expression, love,' Scabior told her, a sickly smile on his face. 'Anyways, come through to my office.' He said with a grin, as began walking off into the Ministry. Liam followed him closely, and reluctantly, so did Katy. Malfoy had put her in such a bad mood, and it just made matters worse when she had to go and talk to Scabior, he seemed really dodgy and she really didn't like him. He'd only recently acquired an office, and it wasn't even an office, so to speak. It was more like a broom cupboard with a desk and some chairs in it.

'Take a seat.' He told them, as he perched himself on the desk. They did as they were told.

'Nice office.' Liam muttered, staring around the room.

'Why, thank you,' He grinned, not hearing the sarcasm in Liam's voice. 'any problems with anything, you two?'

'No.' Liam answered, before Katy had a chance to complain. She glared at him.

'Good,' Scabior replied smoothly. 'because I have something else for you. Very important, very specialised… and _very_ quiet.'

There was a silence as Liam and Katy waited for him to continue, and he waited for them to say something. Scabior cleared his throat, realising they weren't about to speak.

'Yeah, so… you game?'

'Depends what you mean by specialised.' Liam told him. He didn't like the strange stuff.

'Depends what the pay's like, too.' Katy said quickly, she was used to working for specific clients, and this didn't sound like any of them.

'Pay's good, Kate –'

'Katy.'

'Yeah, Katy. Anyway, and by specialised, I mean it's gonna take skill, alright? It's not just you're running and jumping, you're gonna have to be smart and quick thinking and… and just quick.'

'Yep, I think we got all that covered,' Katy sighed. 'so are you going to tell us who we're going after? Or is that something we have to work out for ourselves?'

'Lose the attitude, kid.' He told her sharply. Before he had a chance to explain who they were after, there was a knock at the door and it flew straight open. Luke poked his head around the door, a panicked expression on his face.

'Did I say you could come in?' Scabior asked him sharply.

'No, but-'

'But nothing. Get out, knock again, and wait until I tell you come in. Don't you know how an office works?'

Luke rolled his eyes and shut the door again. He knocked once more.

'Come in.' Scabior said calmly, brushing the arm of his torn suit.

Luke opened the door. 'Scabior… Harry Potter and his pals are in the Ministry.'

'What?'

'Seriously! They took polyjuice and its worn off!' He told him.

'Well, what are you waiting for?'

'What?'

'Do what you're paid for! Snatch them!'

The door was left ajar as Luke dashed off into the Ministry.

'I would have told you who you were after, but it seems Luke's already done that for you.' Scabior smiled nervously at them. Katy and Liam glanced at each other, wide-eyed. They both jumped up at the same time and flew out of the doorway and into the Ministry foyer. Katy stared at the commotion in front of her. Everyone was panicking, running around all over the place, it was going to be impossible to find Harry Potter in this mess!

Harry Potter tore past her, knocking over a pile of papers with his face on it. Liam stood by looking stunned, Katy on the other hand, was straight after him. His friends weren't far behind, and by then Liam had got his act together. Harry turned his head to look behind him, saw someone was chasing him who might actually catch him and sped up, to what Katy would have probably called a light jog.

'Hermione!' He yelled out for some help. Katy was on his tail by then, but they were approaching the fire places rapidly. Hermione was catching up and she grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him and Ron Weasley into a nearby fireplace. Katy grabbed the first thing she could find on one of the three and felt Liam grab her ankle. Next thing they were spinning through the Floo Network… then tumbling to the ground. The landed on a street someone in London, landing with a _thud_ onto the hard pavement. Harry, Ron and Hermione were nowhere in sight.

'What the hell happened?' Katy yelled, standing up and turning around, examining the street.

'No idea…' Liam muttered, still a little dazed from his sharp landing.

'They must have apparated in the Floo Network. Good God, there's a reason they tell you not to do that, I wouldn't be surprised if Ron Weasley get's splinched.'

'Splinched?'

'Yeah. Sort of pulled a load of muscles, maybe pulled something out of joint because I was holding on to his arm,' Katy explained. 'It can get pretty bloody as well.'

'Right. Sounds lovely, Katy,' Liam said, dragging himself up from the floor. 'but what are we going to do now? I mean, we don't even know where to start looking for them.'

Katy turned to look at the row of three story terrace houses on the street, then back at the street sign.

'I think we do, Liam. They tried to come here through the network, but apparated elsewhere. There must be somewhere here that they thought was safe.' She stared at the houses – something was wrong, it didn't look right.

'So… where are we exactly?' Liam asked her, still confused as to what she meant.

'Grimauld Place.'


	7. Searches And Scares

Liam and Katy had been pacing the same street for what seemed like hours, trying to figure out where the trio had been heading. It just appeared to be a typical Muggle street in London. There was nothing seemingly odd about it at all. Then Katy had an idea.

'Hang on, Liam,' She turned to face him. 'D'you remember that book I was reading a couple of weeks ago?'

'No.'

'The one about hidden magical objects?'

'No.'

'Well, I was. And it was saying that there are enchantments you can put on things that will make them disappear… well, seem like they do anyway. It makes them sort of merge with the thing next to it, you can do it with books and boxes and things.' Katy told him. Liam stared back at her blankly.

'So?'

'_So_, maybe you can do that with buildings, too! There could easily be a hidden place in this street, couldn't there? It's the perfect location for something like that. It's in the middle of a busy, suburban neighbourhood in the centre of London! It's a brilliant place to hide something important, right where no one would think to look!' Katy was really getting excited with the thought that she might have sussed them out.

'Right… so how do we find it?' Liam asked her, still lost on what she was saying.

'Take a walk, Liam. See if you see anything odd going on, something that's not there, something that's there that shouldn't be there.' Katy explained, already making her way down the street. Liam shrugged and took her advice.

There didn't seem to be anything strange about the street. A park was situation in the middle of the street, quite over-grown, but nothing out of the ordinary. She thought there was a possibility, so she opened the gate and wandered into the park. It wasn't a play park kind of park, it was just to make the street look pretty, so all that was inside it was trees, bushes and grass. It ran straight through the centre of the street. A bat flew overhead. Katy whipped around after hearing its wings. No, none of the Order were animagi anymore – not since Sirius Black had died. She kept her wand in the pocket on her hoodie, just in case there was any surprises. Then she saw something.

There were small drag marks in the soil. They weren't recent, but it had to have been after the last time it rained, which was about three weeks ago. She looked up and saw a small clearing in the trees above her. She smiled to herself. These small drag marks were the exact shape that broomsticks would make, and there were very faint footprints leading to one side of the street.

'Gotcha.' Katy muttered, following the footprints and leaving the park.

'Liam!' She called. 'I think I got something!'

Liam appeared around the corner and skidded to Katy's side.

'What?' He asked her, staring around as if it would be blatantly obvious.

She pointed to the ground in the park. 'I found footprints and broomstick marks in the ground. They used this for landing without being seen. It's on this side… whatever _it_ is.' Katy told him, pacing a small section of the street in front of Liam.

'Okay,' He said, trying to think logically. 'well, it's nothing in the park… so maybe they own one of these houses?' He said un-certainly. It all seemed too simple for them to just own one of the houses, they were wizards, why have something so openly Muggle as their headquarters?

'Yes! It's like hiding something in plain sight! Right, we have to look for something that looks magical-ish.' Katy smiled back at him. They set off in opposite directions in the street, examining all the houses. Liam noticed one Muggle family watching a chat show, another house in total darkness, one family un-packing shopping… Hang on, there was something strange about this…

Liam re-traced his steps. Number 8, 10… 14… where was 12? He checked again, just in case he'd missed it. No, there was definitely no number 12, Grimauld Place.

'Katy! Come here!' Liam called her over, still staring at the houses. Katy jogged over to him.

'What've you got?' She asked him, following his gaze and watching the houses.

'There's no 12.' Liam said slowly.

'What?'

'12. There's no number 12. It goes 8, 10, 14.' He explained.

'Nice one…' Katy muttered. 'So, how do we get 12 back?'

Liam thought about it. Katy actually had meant it as more of a rhetorical question, but Liam thought he might know the answer to this.

'Well, it'll be some sort of enchantment, right?'

'Right…'

'So, imagine,' He walked over to the entrance of the park and stood facing the spot where 12 should be. 'It has to be something you can do without being noticed, you can't exactly just get out your wand in the middle of a Muggle neighbourhood.'

'Well, no, but…'

Liam tapped his foot, trying to think of something helpful. Suddenly there was a crunching sound. They both stared at the row of houses. It was like numbers 10 and 14 were moving away from each other, the street was expanding! But it didn't look like the Muggles even noticed! And soon after it had started, it stopped and the number 12 was now visible above the door. Katy and Liam stared at it.

'Well done.' Katy said quietly to her partner.

'What do we do now?' Liam asked her. 'Should we go inside?'

'I don't see why not. They'll come back, won't they?' Katy said, cautiously approaching the house. Liam followed her to the door.

Katy put her hand to the door handle. She knew that there'd probably be something waiting for them, a charm or something, ready to spring out and surprise them in the hope of scaring them to death, most likely. Liam sensed her hesitation and gently pushed her hand away from the door.

'I'll get it, Katy.' He smiled at her and then opened the door.

The house was dark as they stepped inside, their footsteps echoing around the whole building on the cold, stone floor. The door squeaked and swung shut with a _bang_. Katy grabbed Liam's hand.

A voice rung out across the house; '_Severus Snape?_' They both recognised this voice as Mad-eye Moody, a previous Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. But it was only his voice.

'It's not Snape.' Liam called out nervously, not knowing where to direct his voice. Katy felt something in her throat, she tried to talk but all that was happening was a quiet stammer. Liam stared at her, almost scared for his life.

The dust at the other end of the long corridor seemed to be shifting… swirling even.

'L-l-liam…' Katy started.

'I got it,' He held his wand out and started to walk cautiously towards the dust. Before he had any time to react, it formed a human shape, a man… with a beard.

Katy screamed. It was Albus Dumbledore, their old headmaster – but he was dead. The flesh was decaying and his eyes were dead and cold. The figure raced towards them, it's arm outstretched. There had to be some way to stop it!

'_It wasn't us! We didn't kill you!_' She yelled, suddenly regaining her voice. As quickly as it had spiralled into existence, the figure dispersed into the air and silence prevailed once more. Katy and Liam looked at each other, neither of them knowing what had created nor halted the ghostly figure. Katy sighed with relief, safe in her thought that this was the last trial for them to endure.

'Are you okay?' Liam asked her, his voice barely more than a whisper.

'Yeah,' She swallowed hard. 'you?'

'Yeah.' He turned on the spot, trying to figure out what they should do next.

'I reckon we need to find a place to sleep. It's late.' Katy told him. He nodded in agreement and they made their way up the stairs. The first room they found looked like it would do. The floorboards were coming apart and one was completely missing, allowing them a view to the darkened living room below.

A scraping sound issued from the landing. Katy pulled her wand out and held it in front of her, aimed towards the door. It opened slowly… there was nothing there! Katy looked down to the floor, and saw a rather ugly house elf trudging into the room, sneering at them.

'What right do you have in the noble house of Black?' It growled, staring at them with its beady eyes.

'I…' Katy was about to reply, but Liam nudged her and shook his head. He had time to take in the room and he knew what he had to do. There was a family tree on the wall, and having attempted to read the names in this light, he ran with what he had. He put his hand into his bag and pulled something out, holding it up to the elf. It was a Slytherin house tie. The elf examined it and looked up at Liam, then nodded curtly. Liam approached the family tree, and traced one of the branches with his hand. It came to Evan Rosier, he stopped.

'My granddad.' He told the house elf. The elf stooped into a low bow.

'Of course, you must be Liam…'

'Yeah.'

'I am Kreacher. I am the house elf for the noble and most ancient house of Black. I am at your service.' He bowed once more. Liam raised an eye brow at Katy. She could tell he was enjoying this.

'And who is your friend, master Liam?' The elf stared at Katy again, as if he was trying to figure something out.

'She's pureblood, if that's what you're asking. Her name is Katy.' Liam told the elf. He nodded.

'Is there anything I can do for you, master Liam?'

'You wouldn't by any chance know how to reset those protective charms that were on the house, would you?' Liam asked him, suddenly remembering that Harry and his friends would eventually turn up.

'Of course, master Liam. Kreacher watched them set it up, the Order and the blood traitors… and the mudblood.' The elf's eyes seemed to flicker with anger.

'Yes… well, we might need you to reset them soon. You see, the blood traitors and the mudblood are coming back, and we don't want them to… feel too welcome when they arrive.' Liam explained. Katy hoped he was trying his best to say something that would keep the house elf on their side, she didn't want to think that what he was saying was coming easily to him.

'Yes, yes, certainly,' the elf agreed with a sly smile. 'Kreacher will put it back as it was… as soon as master Liam tells him to.'

'Excellent. You can rest now, Kreacher.' Liam instructed him.

'Thank you. If you should need anything, you can call Kreacher… Kreacher will come whenever you need anything.' He bowed out of the room. Katy stared back at Liam. He shrugged and grinned at her.

'What was that about? Why do we have to put the charms back?' She asked him.

'Well, for a start, they'll be expecting something, won't they? After all, they must know that there are charms protecting it. But I thought maybe we could have a bit of fun with them, after all… we did get here first.' Liam said with a cheeky grin.

'Fun?'

'Think about it. A huge dark, scary house, and we're paid to snatch them… so why not shit them up a bit? They'll come quieter if they're scared. And Scabior said we'd have to be quick-thinking, so who knows, maybe after they're all scared and helpless, we'll be those nice, helpful, saviours who'll lead them to safety…'


	8. Ambushed While Planning An Ambush

It grew darker outside, and the room plunged into the pitch black night. Katy and Liam's eyes had become accustomed to the darkness and they didn't need to ignite a candle. Kreacher had returned once, and brought some flasks of hot chocolate up to them, he seemed to have really taken a shine to Liam.

'Katy,' Liam started, then paused.

'Yeah?'

'Do you miss school?'

She thought about it. 'I suppose. But this is just so different that I can't really compare them,' She told him honestly. 'do you?'

'I don't know,' he sighed. 'I miss Quidditch and I miss my friends. I'm not sure if I miss school though, I mean I can play Quidditch and hang out with my mates any time I like. I don't need to be in Hogwarts to do it.' He explained. It wasn't that Liam didn't like his old school, because he did, he just couldn't understand it sometimes. At school it would have gone back to the way it used to be. Slytherin pretending they knew better than everyone else, Hufflepuff cowering away from them, Ravenclaw burying themselves in books and Gryffindor being total arse-holes. After the world was turned upside down by the Dark Lord last year, everything had changed. People who weren't supposed to get along had united to achieve something. Houses no longer bared any relevance to life, they didn't even register to people any more.

'Maybe you're right,' Katy muttered, tiredness catching up with her. 'but I guess you wouldn't have met all your friends if you hadn't been to Hogwarts in the first place.'

'Yeah,' Liam agreed quietly. He had a sudden thought. 'Katy, are you going to be alright with all this?'

'All what?'

'Snatching Potter and everything. I mean, you used to really like him…'

Katy stared at Liam. 'This is my job. I've never met Harry Potter. And I think I've only ever spoken to Ron Weasley once. I don't even know who Hermione Granger is! I'll be _fine_, Liam.' She assured him. But secretly, she knew she wouldn't be fine with it. She was trying to stop the only one who could put everything right! She was literally standing in the way of Good, and doing all the work for Evil.

'Although Liam,' Katy continued. 'I think we have to remember that we're supposed to remain in-partial. We're not actually Death Eaters.'

'I know,' Liam shot back quickly. 'I know that. It just so happens that we work for the people who are, though. It's not our fault, so don't feel guilty about it.'

Katy didn't reply, just put her head down on her pillow. She never used to have problem with what she did, but it was ever since the conversation she had with the portrait in Lupin's house before they snatched Tonks.

'Katy, don't be like that,' She felt Liam playing with her hair and turned to face him.

'Like what?' She asked moodily.

'Don't ignore me like that. You know it's not our fault, so please don't feel bad about it. You'll lose your focus and then we'll both be in the shit, okay?' He told her, the right amount of a care and harshness in his voice to convince her.

'Right.' She said finally.

'Good news. We'll set this place up tomorrow. Good night.' He turned his back to her and lay down again.

'Night, Liam.' Katy muttered, still unable to shake the guilt that was mounding up in the back of her mind.

The morning came around and Liam woke his partner up with a shake.

'Katy, come on,' He said softly. 'gotta put this place back ready for them.'

Katy moaned and opened her eyes. 'Alright, alright, I'm getting up.'

Together, Katy and Liam set everything back to how it was before; all the charms and curses. It didn't quite seem like enough though, once they'd made it through that they'd be fine. It was barely scary at all, especially for the three people who'd seen things far worse than death itself.

'We have to do something else.' Liam said suddenly, jumping up from his seat.

'Like what?' Katy asked, throwing her book onto the table.

'I don't know. Just something,' He thought about it and paced the kitchen. Katy went back to her book, he'd come up with nothing. He never did.

'Katy!' Liam exclaimed. Katy jumped and the book fell to the floor.

'What?' She hissed.

'I know what we can do!' He waited for her to ask what it was. All she did was continue to give him and angry stare. He continued, 'We have to make it look like the scene of something terrible, you know? Like a horror film or something. Really scare them.'

'Oh? And what do you think would scare the fearless Harry Potter?' Katy raised an eyebrow at her partner. Liam's smile fell as he realised he hadn't really come up with anything. He began pacing again as Katy picked her book up from the floor and continued reading. She'd barely read a page when Liam's fist pounded the table. Katy slammed the book shut.

'What now?' She snapped.

'I've got it!' Liam exclaimed happily.

Katy rolled her eyes. 'Go on then.' She didn't hold out much hope for this plan.

He sat down opposite her. 'He might not scare easily, right? But his friends sure do! I remember once at school when Draco was trying to play some prank on him to get back for something. In the end we managed to scare him more by messing with Weasley! So, we use that now! If we set all this up with Weasley and Granger's fear in mind, Potter will be completely messed up because his friends are!'

Katy thought about it for a moment. 'Alright, I'll admit that you might have something there.' She said finally.

'Brilliant. So, what can we do?'

'Depends what we have,' Katy replied, looking around the room for inspiration. 'I mean we've got a libraries worth of books lying around, and from what I heard Granger used to practically live in the library. So, we can have books flying at them all over the place… Oh! And we could leave on somewhere they'll pick it up and jinx it so that it's blank and it fills in with what they're doing, you know? So if Ron stands up the book says _Ron Weasley stands up_. That'd be scary right?'

'Excellent!' Liam leapt up. 'And then Weasley did all that with the chess pieces in first year as well, didn't he? So it could all be stuff relating to their first year, kinda creepy, right?'

'Yeah!' Katy leapt up and grabbed the first book she could find.

'What do we call it to make sure they pick it up?' Liam asked her, turning over the pages in thought.

'Well… it should have Harry Potter's name on it, for a start. He'll want to pick that up. But it needs something else, if it just has his name then he might suspect it's some kind of trap… which it is.'

Liam jumped onto the table and perched himself comfortably on the edge. 'What was that guy? The one who invented that stone that they got in first year? I can't remember his name…'

Katy thought hard, but no name came back to her. She'd been fairly interested in that when it happened, but she couldn't understand the books in the library when she tried to research it, it said something about the stone… she couldn't quite place who made it.

'Was he a philosopher? Or a sorcerer?' Liam took some guesses, having narrowed down the list of possible careers of the unknown inventor.

'I think it depends on your nationality.' Katy muttered, still trying to remember. 'We'll go with philosopher.' She took out her wand and tapped the front cover of the book, and the current text began to seep into the book, momentarily leaving it blank. It then filled itself with the new cover they had planned, and the words _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ etched themselves onto the hardback cover. Katy felt quite proud of her work, until she realised that she'd have to find the right charm to make the book record their every move.

'Don't happen to know the charm, do you?' She asked Liam hopefully. He shook his head slowly.

A grin appeared on his face. 'But I know who might.' He turned around and looked up the stairs. '_Kreacher_!'

There was a _snap_ as the house elf appeared before them and stooped to a low bow.

'Master Liam, Kreacher is at your service.'

'Thanks,' Liam said, not really certain how to cope with his new found house-elf. 'I was just wondering if you knew of a certain charm? Say, if we wanted to make this book,' he picked up the book, and watched Kreacher's face become confused as he read the title. 'record the every move of three people… how would we do that?'

Kreacher looked up at Liam, and threw a quick glance in Katy's direction. 'Kreacher has heard of this particular charm…' Kreacher mumbled. 'Kreacher cannot remember how to do it… but Kreacher knows where he has seen it before.'

'Where?' Liam asked, curiosity echoing in his voice.

'Master Sirius had it before… in his bedroom. Kreacher saw him tease Master Regulus with it. Kreacher can find the book that he learned it from, if that is what Master Liam wishes?' Kreacher offered.

Liam beamed at him. 'Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Kreacher.' In another _snap_ Kreacher was gone, and rummaging was heard on the floor above them. Moments later Kreacher re-appeared, holding a dusty black book. He handed it to Liam.

'Kreacher has noted the page number; three-hundred and ninety four.'

'Thank you, Kreacher.' Liam thanked the elf, and he disapparated again.

Katy took the book gently from Liam and opened it to correct page. She read the page in a few minutes, and Liam waited patiently for her. Katy picked up her wand from the table and pointed it at the book once more. She quietly muttered the charm, as the book said it must be repeated as though it was a secret. Liam watched her in confusion. She took a quick shuffle backwards from the book.

'Did it work?' Liam whispered, like if he spoke too loudly the book might hear him.

'I don't know…' Katy replied, the same uncertainty in her voice.

'How do we tell?'

'We don't,' Katy answered. 'we just have to wait until they try it. I set a timer on it, because otherwise it would note our movements as well. We have to put it in the lounge by five, after that no one goes in there. It starts when the next people enter that room.' Katy explained, watching the smile appear on Liam's face. She started to regret agreeing to do this. They were Snatchers, they don't play twisted practical jokes on their targets.

'So what did you have in mind about the chess?' Katy asked him, inwardly begging it was just an idea and he didn't actually have a way to do it.

'Well,' Liam smirked. 'I saw a chess board in one of the rooms upstairs. I'm thinking, if we get the Executioner-'

'Executioner? I'm sorry, Liam, I don't play chess. What's the Executioner?'

Liam rolled his eyes. 'You know all the little pieces? Well, the Executioner is the one who smashes them up when they make a wrong move, y'know?'

'Oh!' Katy remembered now. 'The one that stabbed the horse that Ron was on in their first year?'

'What is it with you and the tales of Harry Potter?' Liam snapped suddenly. Katy remained silent, not scared in the slightest. She simply looked at Liam.

He took a deep breath. 'I'm sorry.'

'Thank you,' Katy continued. 'Now, you were saying about the Executioner?'

'Yes. I was thinking, that if I enchant the Executioner, so it follows Weasley wherever he goes. Subtly, so that when he turns around it's on a shelf near him, or behind him on the floor. You get me?' Liam told her, that familiar smirk re-appearing on his lips.

'Right,' Katy smiled back at him, but it was entirely false. 'okay, well, you go get the chess piece and we'll set up.'

Liam jogged up the stairs and to one of the bedrooms upstairs. He couldn't remember which one he'd seen it in at first, but when he walked into the wrong one, he knew about it. This room was the exact opposite of the one he'd seen previously. This room had Gryffindor banners hanging off the walls, posters of motorbikes… girls. Liam couldn't help but smile to himself. They weren't normal posters though, they didn't move. The girls in bikinis stayed perfectly still, lost in their poses, nothing but a glassy look behind their eyes. Liam wanted to retreat from the room, but there was something compelling him to stay. He took a walk over to the other side, where a dusty looking window sat, waiting for him to pull back the aging red curtains. He did just that, allowing a dim light to eerily fill the room. He glanced out onto the street below him. It seemed like a lifetime ago that they'd been thrown onto that street after chasing Harry Potter and his friends out of the Ministry. He hadn't really taken in what he saw in the street until he took a second glance.

'_Katy_!' He was yelling and he hadn't even realised it. He saw two cloaked figures in the street, and instantly recognised them as Death Eaters. Katy was behind him in a flash, and joined him at the window.

'Shit, what are they doing here?' She mumbled angrily. 'If there's anything that'll stop Harry Potter coming here, it's Death Eaters.'

'What do we do?' Liam whispered, almost afraid that they might here.

'Depends who they are…' Katy muttered, her voice trailing away when the Death Eaters turned around. One of them Katy recognised instantly as Draco Malfoy, and a sudden hatred began to bubble inside her. However, Draco would be easy to manipulate. The other person she didn't recognise, but judging by the expression on Liam's face; he did.

'Fuck…' was about all he could say.

'What? Who is that?'

He swallowed hard. 'That's Lestrange.'

'What?'

'Her husband. That's Bellatrix's husband.'

'She's married?'

'_Yes_. But that's not the point. He's a fucking livewire, even more than his wife,' Liam's voice was literally shaking as he tried to string together a sentence. 'he's quick, he's smart… he's vicious.'

'It sounds like you've had dealings with him before…'

Liam shook his head. 'No. But I know about him. He… he tried to kill my brother. Y'know, before he went crazy and… and…' Liam's voice was barely audible anymore. Katy slipped her arm around her friend.

Liam's brother had killed himself two years ago. He was three years older than Liam, and he'd always been Liam's idol. The one person he always looked up to. But then he got involved with Death Eaters, and Liam's world suddenly became a more difficult place to live. He couldn't make his mind up whether he ought to be proud or ashamed of his brother; Nick. Liam was fifteen when this happened, and being in Slytherin he found it all very confusing what to make of the revelation of what his brother had done. Nick had joined up for unknown reasons, but Liam's parents were happy about it. They were proud of their son, and they'd even expressed that they wanted Liam to follow in his footsteps. Liam would smile and nod along to keep them pleased, but he was so gut-wrenchingly worried about Nick. He read the _Prophet_ every day, and started backwards; with Deaths, just to check if Nick's name was listed.

Liam had never fully opened up to Katy about what happened to Nick, all she knew was that he killed himself. And that was all there was to know.

'Liam,' She whispered to him, her arm wrapped around him and her lips almost touching his ear. 'what happened to Nick?'

Liam turned away from the window and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Katy copied him and slipped her hand through his to comfort him.

'Nick was a Death Eater,' Liam began. 'I was fifteen, and he'd been a Death Eater for about four months when the Order of the Phoenix decided to take a trip to the Department of Mysteries, after You-Know-Who brought Potter and his friends there. Nick went with them, and… he messed up. He had the Prophecy in his hand… he was holding it… then something happened, he slipped, he was pushed… he dropped it… it fell, anyway. The prophecy smashed,' Liam shut his eyes tightly to stop himself crying.

'It's okay,' Katy whispered. 'it's alright.'

Liam took a deep breath and nodded. 'He came home after and he told dad what had happened… that it was his fault. Nick was in trouble then, he knew that there were no second chances for people who fucked up on duty. He said… "that privilege is only for Malfoys, and his patience is wearing thin for them, too." I heard him telling dad that. But it never got to second chances after that. The next night, I was in bed upstairs, when I heard a noise downstairs. My parents were out, so it was just me and Nick. He'd been downstairs, reading, I think. But then I heard shouts, and that's when I left my room. I crept onto the landing and looked down, I didn't want to make any noise… but I wanted to shout at him to stop… and it was him. It was Lestrange. He was torturing Nick, I could… I could hear him screaming…' tears began to well in Liam's eyes, and started to seep down his face. 'Lestrange wouldn't stop. He kept telling Nick how bad he'd screwed up, and then my parents came back. The door opened and with a flash Lestrange was gone. I was… I was stuck to the spot, I couldn't move. I desperately wanted to help Nick, he was so still, helpless. But I couldn't do it.

'He was never the same after that. He was different, he didn't speak to anyone. Just read books and ate occasionally. He didn't go anywhere, didn't write to anyone, just kept to himself. Which was strange for Nick. Then on the day… it happened, he got a letter. Just the one letter. He took it to his room and then by six o'clock he… he had… he was…' Liam paused. 'He was dead. He killed himself and destroyed all the evidence. He left a note for dad, it explained it all. He destroyed his own body and in the process destroyed himself. He did it because he didn't want them to kill him first, he didn't want to… he didn't want to put me to shame by having his murder splashed across the _Prophet_ and be listed as a Death Eater. He wanted my life to be better.' Liam ran his hand forcefully across his face to brush away the tears.

Katy kissed his cheek. 'It's alright, Liam. It's okay. He _did_ make your life better. No one at school knew a thing about him, he did what he told you he wanted to do.' She whispered. Liam nodded strongly and squeezed her hand.

There was a _bang_ from downstairs. It made both of them jump, but they knew instantly what it was, and it was not Harry Potter. How had they got in? Katy was sure they were well hidden from everyone! Liam already had his wand drawn and was on his feet, a raging fire burning in his eyes. He wanted revenge, and he wanted it now.

'It's him, Katy.' Liam told her quietly. 'It's him. He's mine. You take Malfoy.'

'Liam, are you sure-'

'I'm sure.' He interrupted. Katy had no choice but to follow him out of the room. Liam saw the intruders straight away, in the hallway. It was the two Death Eaters from outside; Lestrange and Malfoy. Liam silently made his way down the stairs, and Katy set up a position over the landing, her wand aimed directly at Lestrange's head.

'_Stupefy_!' Liam's voice echoed through the unsuspecting silence. His spell hit Lestrange in the chest, forcing him backwards. Malfoy spun around, suddenly disorientated by the ambush. His eyes suddenly clocked Katy. She wanted to fire at him, but she had to keep her wand on Lestrange as he struggled to get to his feet. He was too dangerous to leave Liam alone with him.

'Draco! Get the girl!' Lestrange barked, springing from the ground and firing a spell at Liam, it hit the wall behind him. Suddenly curtains flew open in the hallway and a high-pitched screaming issued.

'Fight! There's a fight in my house!' A shrill voice shrieked. Katy didn't get a chance to hear what else the voice had to say, as Draco Malfoy appeared in front of her, a dark smirk engraved onto his smug face. Katy had no choice but to turn her attention to him and hope that Liam could hold his own. Malfoy had his wand raised and pointed to Katy, and a menacing look on his face that told her he had every intent to use it.

'Back down, Katy. You work for me, remember?'

Katy smiled back at him. 'I don't work for you specifically… remember? I work for people you know.'

His smile hardened and his eyes glared at her. She'd caught him out on a technicality, and something he'd only said to try and get on her good side. He'd changed his mind about her since then, and he had other means to getting his own way.

'In that case, you'll go by force.' He told her.

'Go where? I'm doing my job.'

'As am I,' He replied smoothly. 'but if you don't back up into that room behind you, I'm going to have to force you there.'

Katy shook her head. 'Go on then. Give it your best shot.' She stole a glance downstairs. Liam was on the floor, but quickly picking himself up. She'd heard numerous curses being fired and various smashing sounds as they ricocheted off vases and pictures. She turned back to Malfoy.

'_Stu-_'

'Expelliarmus!' he was quicker, and caught her wand as it flew from her grasp. Katy didn't give up, just because she had no wand, it didn't mean she couldn't fight. She made a dive for Malfoy, and her fist impacted his jaw with a pounding force. He pushed her off him, one hand clutching his jaw.

'Bitch,' He muttered. '_Flipendo_!'

Katy was thrown backwards into the bedroom behind her, landing painfully on the hard wood floor. She was back on her feet in a flash, but it did no good. Malfoy was already inside the room, and the door quietly shut behind him, locking itself after him. Katy didn't like the look she was being given, and she hoped he wasn't going to attempt what she feared he would.

He was walking towards her, a horrible smile on his face. Katy instinctively backed away from him, not even sure where she was going. She felt her back touch the wall and she realised he had her backed into a corner. He stepped directly in front of her and ran his hand through her hair.

'I wouldn't try that if I was you,' Katy warned him. 'I'm stronger than you think.'

He smirked. 'I know that, but you're not fighting me, are you?' He said quietly, his hand tracing her neck.

She leant closer to him. 'I will be if you continue.' She whispered. Katy felt his hand make its way down her back, but it was when she felt his skin touch hers under her shirt that she flipped out. Without any warning to him, she kicked him hard in the stomach, launching him backwards, doubling over in pain. This gave Katy the time to leap forwards and drop him to the ground, grab his hands and pull them behind his back. She took her wand back out of his pocket, tempted to grab his while she was there.

She bent over him and whispered in his ear.

'You should have known better than to mess with Snatchers,' She told him. 'and especially not to mess with me.' She pulled his arms tighter behind his back and he let out a small cry of pain.

'I get it! I shouldn't have tried that with you! Katy, just let me go!' He moaned, trying to free himself. She wouldn't let him.

'You shouldn't have tried it with _anyone_,' She said, slightly loosening her grip. 'However, if I let you go, what are you going to do?'

'Leave,' He replied quickly.

He didn't have a chance to say what else he would do, as they both heard to door unlocking and footsteps on the floor.

'I've always hated Snatchers.' Came the voice behind them. Katy didn't have to turn around to know this was Lestrange. She wasn't sure what to do, fight him or keep Malfoy under control. She quickly aimed her wand at Draco's back.

'Sorry,' She muttered. '_Petrificus Totalus_.' And Draco froze in the exact position she left him. She got up and spun around, her wand pointed at Lestrange. He was an odd looking man to say the least, but close up he just seemed terrifying. There was a sizable scar on his right eye, and it didn't appear to be in working condition, it looked silvery.

'Wonder why your lot keep employing us then.' Katy replied smoothly. He smiled at her unkindly.

'Yes, that is a wonder indeed. It seems my wife takes quite a shine to you and your… partner.'

'Then it would be a shame to upset her by killing us, wouldn't it?'

He laughed darkly. 'Upset her? Bellatrix doesn't get upset, she just gets angry. And sometimes,' He leant a little closer to Katy. 'that's a good thing.'

Katy stayed perfectly still, not wanting to show any fear. He didn't deserve to know that he scared her.

'Where's Liam?' She asked strongly.

'Don't worry about precious little Liam. He's a big boy, he can take care of himself… well, he thought he could.'

'_Stupefy_!' Katy yelled, blasting Lestrange into the wall. He quickly got up off the floor.

Without any warning he shouted back; '_Crucio_!'

Katy fell to the floor, a sudden intense pain coursing through her. It felt like a rope was trying to force its way through her veins, burning her as it tried to squeeze through the small spaces. The invisible rope began to entwine itself around her heart, pulling tighter and tighter as Katy screamed out, trying to catch some air. Suddenly it stopped leaving Katy gasping for air on the floor, unable to lift her head she was that weak.

Liam stood in the doorway, looking like a hero, holding Lestrange's wand, having non-verbally disarmed him.

'_Petrificus Totalus._' Liam said, and Lestrange dropped to the floor.

Liam was beside Katy in seconds, his arms both around her, gently lifting her off the floor.

'Are you alright?' He asked her, carefully moving her hair out of her face. She nodded, just about able to speak.

'Yeah,' She breathed. 'What do we do with them?' She glanced down at the two unconscious figures.

'I dunno…' Liam muttered. 'we can't just let them go, they'll bring reinforcements, and we won't get paid if we don't catch them ourselves.'

'Right…' Katy replied slowly. 'So we wipe their memories?'

'Okay. But how do we get them out of here? We can't put them back on the street, how's it going to look carrying two bodies out of a house that doesn't exist to Muggles?'

'I know a way.' Katy said quietly. 'But it's tricky, and I've never tried it before… it might not work.'

'We'll try it,' Liam agreed. 'You ever done a memory charm before?'

Katy shook her head. 'You?'

'No,' He replied. 'but you've always been better at that sort of thing.'

Katy swallowed. 'Okay.' She took a step closer to Lestrange, her wand shaking as she aimed it at his head. His eyes showed no fear, and she was fully aware he could hear every word they were saying. '_Obliviate_.' A silver trail emitted from her wand and flew around Lestrange's head, and his eyes turned white.

'Did it work?' Liam asked.

'I think so…' Katy answered, taking a few steps away from Lestrange, then turning to Malfoy. She couldn't see his eyes, and she was glad of it. She felt a sudden wave of sympathy sweep over her. She knew Draco had no choice as to what he was doing, but he was responsible for his actions against Katy. She knelt down next to him.

'I'm so sorry,' She whispered so Liam couldn't hear her. '_Obliviate_.' The same silver lace issued from her wand and Draco's eyes went cold and white.

'Okay, how do we get them out of here?' Liam asked her as she looked up at him from the floor.

'It's risky, Liam. It's called forced apparation. You have to concentrate twice as hard as normal apparation, because you don't want to go there yourself, you're only making someone else go there. It should be easier because they can't think at the moment, so they won't be able to fight back. But it'll still be difficult.'

Liam was staring at Lestrange while Katy explained. 'I'll do it.' He said finally.

'Are you sure you want to try this?'

'Yes.' He said quickly, kneeling to the floor. 'What do I do?'

Katy sighed. She hoped Liam had the skill and determination to do this, if he did it wrong it could take part of him away with Lestrange. 'Place both your hands on his shoulders. Look him in the eyes. Then imagine him being back out on that street… please be careful Liam.'

But Liam was already in place, staring with all the hatred and determination he could muster. There was a snap and Lestrange was gone. Liam stared down at himself. He grinned back at Katy.

'I'm still here.' He beamed.

'Sure you're not missing anything?' Katy asked him, just in case.

'Positive.' He winked at her. Katy rolled her eyes.

Katy placed her hands on Draco's shoulders and positioned herself so she could look him in the eyes. She felt tears suddenly brimming in her eyes. She shook her head slightly and regained concentration. She pictured him on the street once more, held her focus… _snap_. Draco vanished, too.

Katy got up and looked at herself just as Liam had done. Then smiled. She was fine. Liam joined her and they looked out of the window.

'What now?' he asked her, as they saw Draco and Lestrange just lying in the street.

'We reverse the charms.'

'But won't they just remember being here?'

Katy shook her head. 'I'll wipe out the last half hour. But we have to duck the second it bring their memories back, douse all the lights. Otherwise, if they spot us we'll be going around in circles.' She explained. Liam snapped his fingers and the whole house plunged into darkness. Liam slid down the wall and out of sight of the window. Katy shut her eyes to concentrate and whispered the counter charm. She just caught a glimpse of them coming back to motion before she ducked out of sight and joined Liam on the floor. They spent the next hour like this, and gradually Katy fell asleep on Liam's shoulder. Liam's mind was elsewhere. With his brother.


End file.
